Extend Attention

"Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple

understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal

the world through joy.  The birds still remember what we have 

forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated."

Terry Tempest Williams

WHEN WOMEN WERE BIRDS: FIFTY FOUR VARIATIONS ON VOICE

Our heart calls us inward while society directs us out into the world.  We are told to succeed one must get attention over riding our natural instinct to tend to others. Mark Nepo discusses how we are instructed to get recognized as special, even though the threshold to life opens when we extend attention, not receive it.  Life offers extraordinary examples when we recognize the beauty in all things.

Projecting unrealistic dreams of grandeur, we grow to feel unsuccessful and lonely.  This longing to be recognized leads us to a false identity that is empty of love.  We do not love ourselves nor are we capable of how to love others.

When we place our focus on goals that resonate with us, we begin to gather kindred spirits offering encouragement, and acceptance.  Their ability to celebrate and honor life, stems from their celebration of the skills of others.  We find beauty in authentic experiences displaying the peace in our world, not through false pathways to fame.